Marker assembly

ABSTRACT

Described herein are marker assemblies comprising an elongate denticule whose flat, pendent tines bear in snug and slidable relation heat recovered sleeves which conform to the flattened configuration of the tines. After positioning generally tubular heat recoverable sleeves over the pendent tines and recovery of the same, printed information may be imparted to the tine-borne sleeves, which thereafter may be removed from the denticular support and employed as identifying markers for electrical wire and the like.

[451 July 15, 1975 United States Patent t191 Evans 3,318,240 5/1967Boggess.............................. 3,423503 1/1969 York...........3,721,749 3/1973 ll/l973 [54] MARKER ASSEMBLY [75] Inventor: Joseph H.Evans, Palo Alto, Calif.

Raychem Corporation, Menlo Park, Calif.

V.. e n.. .m K

[73] Assignee:

Primary Examiner-Roy Lake Assistant Examiner-Mark S. Bicks Attorney,Agent, or Firm- Lyon & Lyon [22] Filed: June 14, 1973 [21] Appl. No.:369,836

[57] ABSTRACT Described herein are marker assemblies comprising anelongate denticule whose flat, pendent tines bear in snug and slidablerelation heat recovered sleeves which conform to the flattenedconfiguration of the tines. After positioning generally tubular heatrecoverable sleeves over the pendent tines and recovery of the same,printed information may be imparted to the tine-borne sleeves, whichthereafter may be removed from the denticular support and employed asidentifying markers for electrical wire and the like.

14 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures [52] U.S. C1. 269/47; 40/316; 101/4;lOl/35; 264/132; 264/230 [51] Int. B23q 3/00 [58] Field ofSearch............ 40/316; lOl/4, 5, 8, 11, 101/35, 43, 44, 407 R;264/130, 132, 230; 269/47 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,027,962 1/1936 264/230 3,086,242 4/1963 Cook 264/95 3,212,207 10/1965Searmg 40/316 3 297 819 l/1967 Wetmore 264/230 MARKER ASSEMBLYBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Industry finds frequent need for identifyingmarkers employed in tagging components of complicated as semblies. Thisis particularly so in the case of complex electrical assemblies such as,eg, wiring systems employed in aircraft and the like. In such cases, thepractice heretofore has been to impress identifying characters into theinsulation of electrical conductors, an expedient which risks impairmentof insulative integrity. More recently, it has become more common toimpress or print identifying information onto plastic tubes which arethen slipped over the opposite ends of electrical conductors, permittingtheir tracing when cornbined with other such conductors in a cablebundle. That process, proceeding as it does on a substantially piecemealbasis, has proved undesirably laborious and, in addition, thedimensional tolerance required for facile addition of the tubularmarkers to electrical conductors has permitted their free movement onthe conductor, so as to require a sharp bend in the wire end to preventloss of the marker during handling of the free conductor.

Conceivably, the problems of piecemeal printing on wire markers and thelike could be alleviated to a degree by a ticker tape approach in whicha tube was flattened and fed through a typewriter. However, such asystem would require extensive typewriter feed system modifications.Moreover, the type, ribbon and platen of a conventional typewriter aredesigned to make clean impressions on relatively hard, smooth surfaces.ln the case of a merely flattened tube, the keys would strike a doublelayer of soft plastic separated by a small air gap, likely resulting infuzzy, multiple impressions with standard type mechanisms. Again, by theticker tape route, the markers are attached in order end to end, so thatonly the markers at the ends of any given group would be available forinstallation. Moreover, care would be required to prevent a twist in thetube during the typing since any twist would causes the type to spiralabout the tube. With the ticker tape tube designed to be heat-shrinkablefor minimum bulk installation on a wire or cable, it would not besusceptible to radiant heating to render indelible printed charactersthereon, because that heating would prematurely effect heat recovery.Finally, such a tubular marker, unless made heat recoverable wouldcontinue to pose the retention problem previously alluded to, ie, thenecessity that wire ends be bent to prevent loss during handling aftermarker application.

Until the present invention, a need existed for a marker system free ofthe foregoing problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to this invention there isprovided an assembly and a method for forming such an assembly, theassembly comprising a support having an elongate spine from at least oneside of which transversely project a plurality of flat tines spaced oneapart from another, and a plurality of flattened tubular plastic sleevessnugly and slidably disposed over the tines so as to permit removaltherefrom when drawn past the ends of the tines distant from the spine.The sleeves are heat recovered onto the tines, assuming their flattenedconfiguration so as to present a flat surface to a printing mechanismsuch as a typewriter key, which key is enabled to leave on the sleevesurface a clear impression by reason of the backstop provided duringtyping by the tine. The heat recovered sleeves retain their flattenedconfiguration when removed from the tines of their denticular support.However, when pressure is applied from their opposite sides, they openout to receive a wire. Release of pressure causes the informationbearingsleeve attempt to reassume its flattened configuration, so that themarker sleeve grips the wire about which it has been disposed much inthe manner of a spring clip.

The manner in which these and other objects and advantages of theinvention are achieved will become clear from the description ofpreferred embodiments which follows and from the accompanying drawing inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a partial pictorial view of an assembly according to oneembodiment of this invention prior to heat recovery of the sleeves aboutappendages of a denticular support;

FIG. 2 is a partial pictorial view of the assembly of FIG. 1 followingheat recovery of the sleeves;

FIG. 3 is a partial pictorial view of a typewriter platen bearing anassembly like that of FIG. 2 in the course of the'addition of printedinformation thereto; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are end views of an electrical conductor and respectivelyillustrate the retentive springaction of marker sleeves formed accordingto this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference first to FIGS. 1and 2, from lone side of elongate spine l0 project a plurality of flattines 1l spaced one apart from another. Alternatively, of course, tinescould extend from each side of the spine, facilitating typing ofidentical information on the so aligned sleeve pairs borne by theoppositely extending tines. Heat recoverable sleeves 12 are disposedover individual ones of tines l1. Preferably, a release agent isdisposed between the sleeves and tines, as by dipcoating the tines insuch an agent or by nip-coating with such an agent the interior of atubular member from which sleeves 12 are later cut. As appears from FIG.2, upon heat recovery of the sleeves, the recovered sleeves 12l snuglyand slidably conform to the flattened configuration of the tines 11,while admitting or ready removal therefrom when drawn past the ends ofthe tines distant from spine 10.

One advantage of this invention is that the denticulesleeve assemblyadmits of facile impartation of printed information to the sleeves. FIG.3 depicts the platen of a conventional typewriter modified essentiallyonly in that indentations have been cut into the hard rubber surface ofthe platen to receive and position the sleeves for presentation to thetypewriter keys (additionally, if desired as an aid in registration, theplaten may be provided with a sprocket wheel whose teeth 13 engage atrain of perforations 14 disposed along the length of spine 10). Thus,with but minor modification, a conventional typewriter platen can beideally configured for rapid printing of identifying information on themarker sleeve assembly. The unindented portion of the platen can be usedfor conventional typing or an unmodified platen substituted by thetypist whenever conventional typing is called for.

Typically, the heat absorptive characteristics of the dark printedcharacters will be such as to permit their being rendered indelible byexposure to radiant heat, all without unduly discoloring in thesurrounding, printed portions of the flattened surface. Thus, onceprinted indicia are added to the marker assembly, the same can beconveyed past, for example, an infrared source, effectively andindelibly burning the characters into the substance of the sleeve.

Preferably, the uncovered sleeves 12 are manufactured so as to rememberan interior circumferential dimension on the order of twice the width oftines 11 so that while recovery results in a snug disposition of thesleeves over the tines, the sleeves do not tend to substantially furtherrecover when freed of the tines and raised to their recoverytemperature. However, in particular instances where it is desired thatthe marker sleeve once free of its tine support and disposed over a wireor the like be heat recoverable to a low profile configuration, that maybe done simply by appropriate sleeve dimensioning prior to impartationof heat recoverability. ln such cases, the tendency of sleeves recoveredabout the tines to attempt further recovery when subjected to radiantheat in course of rendering indelible their printed indicia is thwartedby the tines themselves.

Generally, the unrecovered sleeves are recoverable to an interiorcircumferential dimension ranging from about the width of the tines 11to twice their width, depending upon whether one wishes further recoveryonce the sleeve is disposed about a wire.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the retentive spring-action of a marker sleeve15 prepared according to the invention when disposed about an electricalconductor 16. With reference to FIG. 14, imposition of pressure onopposite edges 17 and 18 of the sleeve causes its midportions to bowout, permitting ready insertion of conductor 16. When pressure isreleased, the flexible sleeve clamps the conductor 16 so that while onthe one hand it is retained during handling 0f conductor 16, on theother it may be readily rotated about the conductor to present theidentifying information it bears to whatever direction.

The denticular support material is chosen to withstand exposure to thetemperature of sleeve recovery and in the case where it is desired thatsleeves be further heat recoverable when removed from their tinesupports, is made sufficiently rigid as to withstand recovery forceswithout substantial deflection. At the same time, it is preferred thatthe material be sufficiently flexible as to admit of disposition aboutthe platen of a conventional typewriter. In the case Where the sleevesborne by the support are to be exposed to relatively greatertemperatures in order to render printed characters thereon indelible,the support preferably has a high heat deflection temperature. However,as discussed infra, most of that portion of the support not covered bythe sleeves recovered thereon is heatshielded during theindelibilization process, so that the support does not see temperaturesof the magnitude seen by'the exposed sleeve surface. The preferreddenticular support material is nylon 66, although those skilled in theart will readily appreciate that many other materials may be used, eg,stiff cardboard, flexible metal stock, etc. The tines are preferablyintegral with the spine element of the support, and in such case thedenticule is cut from sheet stock in such manner as to insure that anyburrs are directed away from that surface adjacent the recovered sleevesurface upon which printing is to be effected. Otherwise, it may be thatin course of typing portions of the sleeve will be impaled on the burrs,making removable of the sleeve from its supporting tine somewhatdifficult.

As before noted, the release agent may be coated on the denticularsupport or alternatively coated on the interior of the sleeves. Where alubricious release material is used, preferably it is one which eitheris not volatilized during indelibilization or one whose volatile byproducts are not harmful. Preferred as a release agent or lubricant is amixture of parts by weight tricholoroethane and 5 parts by weightsilicone stopcock grease such as that available from the Dow CorningCorporation.

The heat recoverable sleeves of the invention formed from materialcomprising polymeric material capable of having plastic or elasticmemory imparted thereto. Materials having such memory have beendimensionally changed from an original heat stable configuration to adimensionally heat unstable configuration tending to move in thedirection of the original configuration upon the application of heatalone. The terms plastic memory and elastic memory are usedinterchangeably herein and are intended to be mutually inclusive.

Examples of such heat recoverable materials are found in Currie, U.S.Pat. No. 2,027,962, Cook et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,086,242, and Clabburn,U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,749, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference. One method of making a heat recoverable materialconsists in exposing a thermoplastic material to an amount of heat whichis insufficient to allow the material to melt but sufficient to allowthe molecular structure to become distorted; and then distorting thematerial to a new configuration and cooling the material in itsdistorted state. Subsequent increases in tempurature sufficient toreduce locked-in stresses caused by the initial plastic deformation willcause the article to tend to recover to its initial state.

Another manner in which heat recoverable articles are generally madeinvolves the formation of a polymeric article having a first dimension,followed by crosslinking of the polymer. The crosslinking can beeffected by chemical means, eg, with peroxides, or by irradiation or bycombinations of the two. Radiation employed can be of various typesincluding charged particles, ie, beta and alpha, neutral particles, ie,neutrons, and electromagnetic, ie, gamma and ultraviolet, as is wellknown. Subsequent heating of the material will melt the crystals in acrystalline thermoplastic material or significantly lessen otherinternal molecular forces such as hydrogen bonding or dipoledipoleinteractions to an extent sufficient to allow distortion of the product.Upon cooling of the heated and distorted article, there is obtained aproduct which remains in its distorted shape while at room temperature,due to the reformation of strong interchain forces such as crystallinitywhich at low temperatures dominate the contrary stresses resulting fromcrosslinking. Upon reheating, the crosslink forces become dominant andthe material tends to recover to its original geometry.

When irradiation is used, doses of any desired amount can be usedalthough, generally, a dosage of from 5 to 50, preferably 20-25 megaradswill be sufficient.

An exemplary of the polymeric materials to which heat recoverability canbe imparted by the above and other means may be mentioned polyolens suchas polyethylene, polybutene, various copolymers of ethylene, propyleneand butene, polyvinyl halides, eg, polyvinyl chloride; ionomers andpolyurethanes.

For optimal printability, the polymeric material of 5 which therecoverable sleeve is formed contained a substantial proportion offiller material. The preferred sleeve material contains 40 parts byweight low density polyethylene. l5 parts by weight ethylene-ethyleneacrylate copolymer, 8 parts by weight white pigment, 3l parts by weightflame retardant, and 6 parts by weight antioxidant. The recoverytemperature of a sleeve so composed is on the order of about 105-l 10C.

Typewritten information contained on sleeves formed of the foregoingpreferred composition was indelibilized by exposing the support-bornesleeves to a quartz tungsten filament for a short period (eg,approximately 0.7 seconds) during which time the temperature of theprint portions of the sleeves is believed to have been raised to ca.315C. Where this preferred additional step of the printing process ispracticed, those skilled in the art of plastics printing are well ableto determine what times and temperatures will suffice for whateverplastic material.

While my invention has been described by reference to preferredembodiments thereof, it will be understood that the invention is notlimited thereto, but only to the lawful scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An assembly comprising:

a. a flexible support spine comprised of an elongate spine from at leastone side of which transversely projects a train of substantiallyparallel tines spaced one apart from the other, said support admittingof flexure so as to diminish the distance between opposite ends thereofwhile retaining said tines in mutually parallel orientation; and

b. a plurality of tubular sleeves;

each of said sleeves being snugly and slidably disposed over one of saidtines so as to admit of removal therefrom when drawn past the ends ofsaid tines distant from said spine.

2. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein said tines are substantiallyflat.

3. An assembly according to claim 2 wherein said sleeves are flattened.

4. An assembly according to claim 3 in which said sleeves retain theirflattened configuration when removed from said tines.

5. An assembly according to claim 4 in which a release agent is disposedbetween said tines and said sleeves.

6. An assembly according to claim 5 in which said tines are integralwith said spine.

7. An assembly according to claim 5 in which a train of perforations areprovided along the length of said spine` 8. An assembly according toclaim 4 in which said sleeves are comprised of a crystalline,cross-linked polyoletin.

9. An assembly according to claim 4 in which said sleeves are comprisedof a cross-linked polymer.

10. An assembly according to claim 3 in which flattened surfaces of saidsleeves bear printed information.

11. An assembly according to claim 3 in which, upon removal from saidtines, said sleeves are heat recoverable to a lessertransversedimension.

12. An assembly according to claim 1 in which, upon removal from saidtines, said sleeves are heat recoverable to a lesser transversedimension.

13. An assembly according to claim 12 in which said sleeves arecomprised of a cross-linked polymer.

14. An assembly according to claim 13, wherein said polymer is apolyolefm.

1. An assembly comprising: a. a flexible support spine comprised of anelongate spine from at least one side of which transversely projects atrain of substantially parallel tines spaced one apart from the other,said support admitting of flexure so as to diminish the distance betweenopposite ends thereof while retaining said tines in mutually parallelorientation; and b. a plurality of tubular sleeves; each of said sleevesbeing snugly and slidably disposed over one of said tines so as to admitof removal therefrom when drawn past the ends of said tines distant fromsaid spine.
 2. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein said tines aresubstantially flat.
 3. An assembly according to claim 2 wherein saidsleeves are flattened.
 4. An assembly according to claim 3 in which saidsleeves retain their flattened configuration when removed from saidtines.
 5. An assembly according to claim 4 in which a release agent isdisposed between said tines and said sleeves.
 6. An assembly accordingto claim 5 in which said tines are integral with said spine.
 7. Anassembly according to claim 5 in which a train of perforations areprovided along the length of said spine.
 8. An assembly according toclaim 4 in which said sleeves are comprised of a crystalline,cross-linked polyolefin.
 9. An assembly according to claim 4 in whichsaid sleeves are comprised of a cross-linked polymer.
 10. An assemblyaccording to claim 3 in which flattened surfaces of said sleeves bearprinted information.
 11. An assembly according to claim 3 in which, uponremoval from said tines, said sleeves are heat recoverable to a lessertransverse dimension.
 12. An assembly according to claim 1 in which,upon removal from said tines, said sleeves are heat recoverable to alesser transverse dimension.
 13. An assembly according to claim 12 inwhich said sleeves are comprised of a cross-linked polymer.
 14. Anassembly according to claim 13, wherein said polymer is a polyolefin.